Greta Gerwig's "Barbie," which opens July 21 in theaters, joins the crowded pool of 2023 movies made about a specific brand. There has been a Nike commercial in "Air" and a Nintendo commercial in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," as well as origin stories like "Tetris" and "Blackberry." Most of these have been empty, by-the-numbers tellings of how a product came to be.
On the surface, "Barbie" might play like an ad for Mattel. The movie's extensive marketing campaign has generated a vast amount of products to sell in relation to the film's release. The difference here is the film's director, who has made something unique from her debut ‘product’ movie. Gerwig has made three features as a solo director (her first directorial effort in 2008, "Nights and Weekends," was co-directed by Joe Swanberg) and proven to be a rich and soulful filmmaker. She would not settle for a mere two-hour ad for a legendary toy.
"Barbie" opens in the bright and colorful world of Barbie Land, where many different versions of Barbie live happily. Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) joyfully wakes up every day and goes through her daily routine, spending time with her fellow Barbies (played by Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Sharon Rooney, Hari Nef, Issa Rae and Emma Mackey, among others). Days are spent on the Beach with Ken (Ryan Gosling) and his fellow Kens (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa).
Life is all bubble gum pink and dance parties, until Barbie is plagued by a wave of existential dread ("Do you ever think about dying?" is something she blurts out in the middle of a giant dance party). She tries to play it off, but these feelings linger, and her world doesn't feel the same. She consults Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), who tells her she needs to travel to the real world and find her owner to figure out what is causing these feelings. So, Barbie (and Gosling's Ken, of course) head to Los Angeles to try their hand at being ‘real people.’
It’s apparent that everyone–including Gerwig behind the camera–is having the time of their lives letting loose and bringing this vision to life. Robbie plays Barbie as some false version of perfect, but really soars in bringing her vulnerabilities and insecurities to the surface. Gosling plays Ken like he has been waiting for this role his entire career. While he’s shown his comedic prowess before, Gosling has never gone so wonderfully over-the-top as he does here. In the real world, America Ferrera's Gloria has some strong scenes opposite Robbie's Barbie.
"Barbie" is daring in unexpected ways because it both leans into its commercialized nature and then effectively subverts it. The movie gets ahead of itself by including Mattel in the plot (the company's CEO is played by Will Farrell) and Barbie has to confront a boardroom of men who desperately want her to know a woman once ran the company. The screenplay (by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach) takes aim at balancing a celebration of Barbie's legacy in young girls’ lives, while also noting it might not have always been what impressionable girls should have leaned on as an example of how girls should be or act.
There's a lot going on in "Barbie.” As the movie approaches its final act, it seems like too much is going on. The screenplay tries to get its arms around a lot of themes and some get lost in various plot threads, occasionally getting knotted up by lofty ambitions.
But ultimately, Gerwig has created an extraordinarily silly movie with a gigantic heart. The movie tackles gender roles and issues of self-identity and worth, all common threads in her films so far. "Lady Bird," Gerwig's wonderful first film as a solo director, followed Christine, a high school student who hid behind the self-given name ‘Lady Bird’ as she tried to find her place in the world. There are a lot of similarities between Lady Bird and Barbie's arcs, which doesn't feel like an accident but is subtle enough to be affecting. “Barbie” trips over itself occasionally, but crosses the finish line on a beautiful note.
"Barbie" is currently playing at The Little Theatre. Tickets and showtimes can be found here.
Matt Passantino is a freelance writer for CITY Magazine.